Gerbner clearly and comprehensively outlines the way in which the universal story-telling function of human societies has been colonized by corporate media.
Drawing upon the path-breaking research of the Cultural Indicators Project, Gerbner outlines, in a comprehensive and clear fashion, the way in which the universal storytelling function of human societies has been colonized by corporate media in the modern world. Making a distinction between 'effect' and his own theory of 'cultivation,' he explains the role the media environment plays in how we think about ourselves and the way the world works.

Through a concrete focus on the stories of gender, class, and race, Gerbner provides us with an analytical framework to understand what is at stake in the debates about the media.